The Cave
by Pat Hill
Summary: Lara journeys to the center of of an enchanted forest to find ingredients to save her sick father. But in order to obtain them, she must survive attacks from monsters in a dark and secretive cave. Luckily, the biggest monster in the forest, Kong, is there to help her on her journey. Will Kong be able to defeat the monsters? Will Lara save her father? Find out in this forest story.


The Cave

Once upon a time, there was a small village nestled near a mysterious forest. People of all shapes and sizes lived in this village. One of these was a girl by the name of Lara. She was small for her age, with red hair, blue eyes, and a tiny nose. Her father was a local blacksmith, making weapons for the passing knights and soldiers of the king's army. He let his daughter walk amongst the other villagers while he worked. Often, Lara would look out into the forest. The wind rustled the leaves on the trees and the grass near the entrance, but many farmers tried their best not to go near the woods. "What's so terrible about the forest?", asked Lara one day. "Let me tell you, youngster", said an old, one-eyed hunter, "In that cursed forest lives the most powerful beast in the world. Wolves cower before him, lions grovel at the sight of him, even dragons are afraid of this beast." "What is he?", asked Lara. "He", said the hunter, "is named by the Fair Folk themselves. He is Kong, the greatest being to walk this Earth. Every time a hunter enters that forest, they never return. No one who has seen Kong has ever survived an encounter with him. They say he eats human flesh. I, for one, am glad to have never seen him in person". This tale was likely meant to frighten Lara, but she listened with wicked fascination. From then on, she would look out into the forest, waiting for Kong to show himself. He never did, but Lara still hoped to see him.

One dark winter, Lara's father became ill. The Medicine Man tried to help him get better, but he continued to get sicker and sicker. "It's just as I've feared", said the Medicine Man, "He has Scarlett Fever. If we can't find the ingredients for a cure in a week or less, he'll die". "What do we need?", asked the one-eyed hunter. "We need the root of an iron tree, the herbs grown in an underground river, and the tooth of a Black Tiger", said the Medicine Man, "But these are only found in the forest of Kong. There's no hope for Lara's father now". Lara heard this and weeped out in the snow. The one-eyed hunter comforted her with a hug, but Lara wanted to save her father. "You say the Fair Folk named Kong?", she asked, "Can they help us?" "The Fair Folk can be fickle", said the hunter, "Only an act of true bravery will get them to take notice of people like us. I'll do my best to help you". With that, the one-eyed hunter walked off. Lara looked off into the forest, then at her father. She ran towards the woods without hesitation.

It didn't take long for Lara to notice some things about the forest. Branches were snapped, massive footprints were in front of her, and a roar could be heard in the distance. Lara quickened her pace as soon as she saw a pair of glowing green eyes. Suddenly, a massive beast attacked! It looked like a T. Rex, only smaller, with three fingers instead of two, three rows of shark-like teeth, and spikes on it's back! It smashed into a tree, sending it falling in front of Lara! Lara ducked near, waiting for the beast to lose interest. Suddenly, the beast was lifted out of sight! All Lara could hear were roars and snapping branches. Then, the beast fell over, dead. Lara slowly looked over the fallen tree, but saw nothing. She crawled over to her left to see if the coast was clear and crawled right into a branch. She then realized that this was no branch. It was a foot. Her eyes followed the leathery foot up to a furry leg, then to a barrel chest. Looking down at Lara was a massive ape, almost 50 feet tall. His skin looked like gray leather, with black fur covering most of his body. He had scars lining his arms, legs, face, and chest, and his eyes burned blood-red. "So this is Kong", whispered Lara. What else could it be? Kong reached out and blocked Lara's escape path. Not that Lara was going to cut and run. She'd come too far to be scared off by Kong. She looked up at Kong and walked toward him. That got his attention. He picked up Lara and got a closer look at the smaller human. Lara, in turn, told Kong about her sick father and the ingredients to make a cure for his illness. "Can you help me?", asked Lara. Kong thought it over, then walked into the forest.

Kong stopped near a massive opening in the ground. Lara looked into it and realized that it was a cave. Kong then put her on the cliff above the cave. Lara looked up and saw an iron tree. She tried not to jump in excitement, then started to dig into the rock. She grabbed onto a root and pulled, but it wouldn't budge. Kong, on the other hand, effortlessly snapped the root free. He dropped it into Lara's hands. "OK", she said, "now we need to find an underground river". Kong took Lara into his hand and began to climb down into the cave. Suddenly, massive vultures attacked! They scratched Kong with their talons, but he couldn't fight back without dropping Lara or falling himself! Then, he leaped from the cliff wall, knocking two vultures out of the air before landing on another rock face! He then smashed the rocks under his right foot, sending them falling onto the other vultures! Finally, Kong leaped onto the vultures, sending them and himself falling into the darkness!

Kong landed with a loud SMASH! Lara was shaken, but otherwise OK. Strange, bioluminescent fungi lit the cave with a magical, blue light. The skeletons of several beasts adorned the cave floor. The cry of other monsters filled the air. Kong held Lara closer to his chest, growling at whatever lived in the cave. "It's OK, Kong", said Lara. Kong looked at her skeptically, but continued onward. Soon, it started to grow darker. Lara grew nervous, but Kong grunted. He sniffed the air, then put Lara down. He sat and leaned back on the wall of the cave. Lara sat next to him and stared into his eyes. He simply wrapped his leathery hand around her for warmth. It was then that Lara realized how deeply lonely Kong must have been, having to fight monsters day to day, being the the biggest and baddest, yet having every other creature run in terror or attack on sight of him. Kong, of course, was too proud to show, but it was there. Across from Lara and Kong was the skeleton of another great ape. Was this individual related to Kong? Lara probably would never know, but with Kong watching over her, she drifted silently to sleep.

The next day, Kong and Lara continued deeper into the cave. Suddenly, Lara heard voices. "Come this way", they said, "Go in this direction". The voices were like whispers, almost silent, but haunting no less. Kong picked up Lara and growled at the voices, continuing down the path. Lara wasn't sure if it was the Fair Folk, or the ghosts of those lost in the cave. Frankly, she didn't want to find out. Eventually, the two heard the sounds of rushing water. "We're getting close", said Lara, Kong rounded a bend and walked over to the underground river. The water rushed down a waterfall, which connected to the surface, and under the water grew silver reeds with green leaves. Kong set Lara down on the river bank, and she reached into the water to grab the herbs. As she put the herbs in her pocket, a loud hiss filled the air. Kong growled, and suddenly, a massive eel burst out of the water! It wrapped itself around Kong, who furiously punched it! The eel bit Kong on the arm, but Kong them slammed it into the waterfall! The eel released it's grip, then Kong threw the eel off of him! The eel tried to slither away, but Kong then stomped it's head underfoot! A pool of red appeared in the water. Suddenly, another eel bit Kong on the leg! Kong roared and grabbed the eel by it's jaws! He pulled them further and further apart, until SNAP! The eel fell over, dead. Kong picked up Lara and walked down the river bank.

Further into the cave, Lara started to notice bones. A leg bone here, a ribcage there. Then, Lara started seeing whole skeletons, each bearing a familiar look. "They look like you", said Lara. She was right, of course. These were the skeletons of Kong's ancestors. Kong was having a hard time keeping up his stoic facade. The more he walked, the more emotional he became. Finally, he stopped at one skeleton. Lara looked at it and realized that this was Kong's father. All became silent, except for the sounds of dripping water and breathing. Kong just stared at the skeleton. Lara gently brushed the fur on his arm, waiting for something to happen. Eventually, Kong walked away from the skeleton. Lara looked back to it, thinking of her own father. It wouldn't be soon enough to see him safe.

After a while, Kong and Lara entered a massive pit. There was the skeleton of a black tiger. Lara ran over an pulled one of it's fangs out. Suddenly, a giant reptile with a long tail, two arms, and the face of a skull emerged from the rock. Kong roared in anger at this Skullcrawler and attacked! He punched the beast, then threw it into the wall! But then, the Skullcrawler whipped it's tail around Kong's legs and knocked him down! Lara ran for high ground as the Skullcrawler dug it's claws into Kong's chest! With all her strength, she pushed a massive boulder onto the Skullcrawler! The Skullcrawler then tried to climb up after Lara! Kong grabbed the boulder and smashed the beast over the head! Then, Kong slammed the monster's face into the dirt! The Skullcrawler tried to knock Kong away, but Kong then crushed the Skullcrawler's spine with his foot! He took Lara, then smashed the weak rocks on the wall, burying the Skullcrawler underneath a mass of rock and dirt, killing it at last! Kong looked over the creature's dead body, put Lara down, then roared and beat his chest! Then, ever so gently, he picked up Lara and put on his shoulder. They then headed out of the cave.

Kong and Lara emerged from the cave and walked through the woods. Kong looked back to the cave, the sadness and anger draining from his face. All that remained was a proud, stoic expression. "Kong", said Lara, "let's go home". Kong couldn't agree more. He walked through the forest, the cold winds blowing falling snow into his fur. The icy fog grew thicker and thicker the closer he got to the edge of the forest. At last, he put Lara down on the plain between her home and the forest. Kong looked sadly at Lara. Lara, in turn, put her forehead on Kong's. She wished he could come to the village, for the villagers to know that he was good and decent creature, but somehow, it didn't seem right. Kong was where he needed to be. After a while, Kong slipped back into the fog of mystery and doubt, leaving Lara looking at the forest edge. Eventually, she moved on.

The Medicine Man was able to mix the ingredients together and bring Lara's father back from the edge of death. The one-eyed hunter noticed that Lara's happiness to see her father alive again was stronger than most of the children whose parents survived. "Well", said the Medicine Man, "she must have had a lot of trouble to get those things". "I concur", said the one-eyed hunter, "The Fair Folk must have been kind to her". "What makes you think it was the Fair Folk?", asked the Medicine Man as he picked up a drawing of Lara with her friend: the protector of the forest, Kong. The one-eyed hunter looked out at the woods and wondered if there was some truth to the old stories he heard. That Kong treated those who understood his pain with kindness. We may never know.

The End?


End file.
